District line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines and the third busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground. Two of the four (Richmond and Wimbledon) western branches of the route are also the only lines across the entire network to cross the Thames by bridge and not by tunnel. Although the District line is only the fourth longest line on the network, it serves more stations than any other line. History The District line was built by the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) and opened in stages from 1868. The MDR was later bought by Charles Yerkes, forming part of the "Underground" group until it was nationalised in the 1930s. It had branches to Uxbridge and Hounslow West, but both are now operated by the Piccadilly line. Eastbound services ran as far as the seaside town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex from 1 June 1910 and to Shoeburyness from 1911, until 30 September 1939. Between 1 March 1883 and 30 September 1885 the line also served stations from Ealing Broadway to Windsor, running on the Great Western Main Line. Trains Most of the District line's services use sub-surface D stock, although the Wimbledon to Edgware Road service uses S7 stock due to shorter platform lengths between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road. The D stock has been refurbished, having received the standard Underground livery of red, white and blue, replacing the previous unpainted aluminium finish which is prone to damage by graffiti vandals. The stock also received a complete interior refurbishment and was fitted with CCTV and passenger information displays. The trains are maintained at Ealing Common Depot and Upminster Depot. Map Stations In order from west to east Richmond branch Ealing Broadway branch Wimbledon branch Kensington (Olympia) branch Edgware Road branch Main line Closed stations *Hounslow Town tube station, opened 1 May 1883, replaced by Hounslow East on 2 May 1909 *Mark Lane, Main line, opened 1884, replaced by Tower Hill 4 February 1967 *South Acton, Ealing branch, opened 1880, closed 28 February 1959 *St. Mary's, Main line, opened 3 March 1884, closed 30 April 1938 *Tower of London, Main line, opened 1882, closed 1884 Current service pattern The following off-peak service pattern currently runs on the District line * 6 trains per hour Ealing Broadway - Tower Hill * 6 trains per hour Richmond - Upminster * 6 trains per hour Wimbledon - Upminster * 6 trains per hour Wimbledon - Edgware Road * 4 trains per hour Kensington (Olympia) - High Street Kensington Safety In early 2009, three safety failures occurred on the line. All of them were recorded to have involved trains which passed signals showing red. In August 2009 it was reported that the line had been given a period of less than a month to improve safety features or face possible legal action, involving temporary line closures. Interavailabilty c2c also serves Upminster, Barking, West Ham and (for Tower Hill). Tickets are interavailable between the two operators with Oyster cards (including pay as you go) accepted on this part of c2c's route. South West Trains services occasionally operate on the Wimbledon Branch between East Putney and Wimbledon, often due to engineering works or problems on the mainline, although trains do not stop at any of the intermediate stations. In popular culture *The fictional Walford East tube station in the BBC television series EastEnders is on the District line, taking the place of Bromley-by-Bow. From 4 February 2010 EastEnders will use shots of District line trains to superimpose on their episodes to show the trains running into the fictional station of Walford East which is part of the set. *Sheffield band Milburn wrote a song called 'The District Line' which refers to London. Gallery Maps * Richmond - * Kew Gardens - * Gunnersbury - * Ealing Broadway - * Ealing Common - * Acton Town - * Chiswick Park - * Turnham Green - * Stamford Brook - * Ravenscourt Park - * Hammersmith - * Barons Court - * West Kensington - * Wimbledon - * Wimbledon Park - * Southfields - * East Putney - * Putney Bridge - * Parsons Green - * Fulham Broadway - * West Brompton - * Kensington (Olympia) - * High Street Kensington - * Notting Hill Gate - * Bayswater - * London Paddington - * Edgware Road - * Earl's Court - * Gloucester Road - * South Kensington - * Sloane Square - * London Victoria - * St. James's Park - * Westminster - * Embankment - * Temple - * Blackfriars - * Mansion House - * Cannon Street - * Bank-Monument - * Tower Hill - * Aldgate East - * Whitechapel - * Stepney Green - * Mile End - * Bow Road - * Bromley-by-Bow - * West Ham - * Plaistow - * Upton Park - * East Ham - * Barking - * Upney - * Becontree - * Dagenham Heathway - * Dagenham East - * Elm Park - * Hornchurch - * Upminster Bridge - * Upminster - * Ealing Common Depot - * Upminster Depot - References External links * * * ca:District Line cs:District Line (linka metra v Londýně) da:District line de:District Line es:District Line eu:Barruti Linea fr:District line gan:的斯集庫杜線 hi:डिस्ट्रिक्ट लाइन it:District Line ka:დისტრიქტის ხაზი hu:District line nl:District Line ja:ディストリクト線 no:District-linjen nn:District-linja pl:District Line pt:District line ru:Линия Дистрикт simple:District line sk:District Line fi:District Line th:สายดิสทริกต์ zh:區域線 Category:London Underground lines Category:Railway stations opened in 1868 Category:Transport in Barking and Dagenham Category:Transport in Ealing Category:Transport in Hammersmith and Fulham Category:Transport in Havering Category:Transport in Hounslow Category:Transport in Kensington and Chelsea Category:Transport in Merton Category:Transport in Newham Category:Transport in Richmond upon Thames Category:Transport in the City of London Category:Transport in Tower Hamlets Category:Transport in Westminster